Trump says Zelensky shares blame for war dead

BBC ^ | April 15, 2025 | Yang Tian

[McGruff]

Donald Trump has said Volodymyr Zelensky shares the blame with Russian President Vladimir Putin for "millions of people dead" in the Ukraine war.

"When you start a war you got to know you can win," he said, also blaming former US President Joe Biden for the conflict.

"Millions of people dead because of three people," Trump said on Monday. "Let's say Putin number one, let's say Biden who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelensky."

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands, but not "millions", of people have been killed or injured on all sides since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

Questioning Zelensky's competence, Trump remarked that the Ukrainian leader was "always looking to purchase missiles".

"You don't start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles," Trump said.

[NurdlyPeon]

I think I’d put the order at 1)Obama/Biden, 2)Putin, and 3)Zelenski.

[BigEdLB]

As usual, our Prez gets to the bottom line. And shows his humanity in that he has empathy for innocent folks, and disdain for evil oligarchs like Zelensky , Putin, and Brandon. And all Democomms like Fauxahontas, Adam Deshitz, and Demon Seed Lizzy.

[dp0622]

I’d put

NATO
DEMS
ONE WORLD GOVT
Z
PUTIN

My order is NOT to imply that putin is a good guy bit this time he really had no choice.

But no of course I don’t trust hom.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I’d stick Victoria Nuland in there somewhere.

[Allegra]

Questioning Zelensky's competence, Trump remarked that the Ukrainian leader was "always looking to purchase missiles".

Purchase? With what?

[OldHarbor]

Zman is looking for a 1,000 men a day, 30,000 a month.

Staggering, and the little pimp runs around bad mouthing, mooching, wheedling, a truly despicable bastard.

A Ukraine patriot needs to take that POS out. Save their fellow countrymen from a bad end.

[TigersEye]

Sounds like PDJT is done with Z’s games.

Shoulda worn a suit to the WH ... and acted like a man.

[A strike]

HAH !! like the entire US/NATO proxy war.. US State Dept/British Foreign Office, in other words MI6 and CIA.. VampiressVICKY will burn

[Reverend Wright]

I think when we get the final war casualties esp for Ukraine they are going to be far higher tha what is been publically disclosed.

[nathanbedford]

Questioning Zelensky's competence, Trump remarked that the Ukrainian leader was "always looking to purchase missiles".

Rank hypocrisy from the man who repeatedly brags that he is the man who gave Zelinski shoulder fired missiles which were the main reason Putin's initial invasion was defeated short of Kiev. The commitment of lethal aid does not depend on the range of the missile.

Even worse is Trump's absurd allegation that's Alinsky started the war:

"You don't start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles," he told reporters at the White House, also blaming former US President Joe Biden for the conflict

Zelinski did not start the war, his country was invaded, a fact that is dispositive in international law.

The fact is that America inveigled Ukraine into this war and, when Zelinski told us that he did not need a ride he needed ammunition, the American government, executive and legislative, Republican and Democrat, gave Ukraine that ammunition and then bragged that America had successfully encouraged Europe to do the same.

We conservatives on this thread absurdly sought to list guilt for this war in order of responsibility, always, it seems, an attempt discredit Zelinski. This is not Zelinski's war, not Ukraine's war alone, not Biden's war, it was and is our war because we, our country, brought it on even if unwittingly, we funded it, we armed it, we sanctioned the Russians, and we announced our support to Zelinski when he addressed a joint session of Congress.

Nor was Biden acting alone, Republicans up and down the line in and out of Congress enthusiastically supported the war. We conservatives showered Zelinski with personal support. We, that is we Americans, called Zelinski the new Winston Churchill-and with good reason, he was fighting for the very survival of his nation and importuning the richest nation on earth for support, exactly as Churchill had done during Britain's Finest Hour.

Now in a rank distortion of history, President Trump accuses Zelinski of being a dictator, of starting the war, of corruption, of evading elections etc. All that has changed as the bodies piled up thanks in part to American dollars and American machinations, is that Donald Trump has become president and opposes the war.

[A strike]

VampiressVicky

[digger48]

Trump has never liked wars and people dying in them

[one guy in new jersey]

Gads...wherever you stick her, hopefully she’ll stay there, and away from us. What a menace.

[tennmountainman]

Zelensky’s Forced Conscription Squads will have to turn Turbo Forced Conscriptions on to meet those numbers.

[Brian Griffin]

Casting blame is sometimes not helpful.

Escalatory mistakes were probably made by both the Ukrainian and Russian governments.

Both governments need to move towards long-term peace. The US government should be helpful in a non-public manner.

[Brian Griffin]

“Zelensky’s Forced Conscription Squads”

I don’t see that Zelensky has much choice in the matter.

Let me add that Russia is going to want no third-party forces in Ukraine, Ukraine to be neutral and not in any way part of NATO.

Ukraine can be what Finland long was or it will be swallowed up into the Russian Federation within two years.

[tennmountainman]

The same choice Zelensky has now will be the same choice he has 3 months
from now. Except more men on both sides will die in between.

[yldstrk]

However, Z has “been a dictator, is corrupt, loves luxery, and has evaded elections”.”

[EQAndyBuzz]

“I’d stick Victoria Nuland in there somewhere.”

1 - Deep State
2 - Russian Oligarchy
3 - Zelensky

To this day, I still believe that Russia was punishing Zelensky for taking more than the customary 10% of US Taxpayer money. Then it escalated.